Broken Fire
by shielddrake42
Summary: Amy, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are transported to Crisis City, and Amy sees firsthand what Silver has lived through. Romance issues and jealousy abound. Takes place during Sonic 2006. AU, OOC, and Silvamy. Sequel to Bungling Love.


Disclaimer: Isn't it interesting how the rights to the Sonic franchise do not pass over to me between stories

Disclaimer: Isn't it interesting how the rights to the Sonic franchise do not pass over to me between stories? So, nope, Sonic and all related characters do not belong to me.

A/N: I was quite surprised by the reception of the Bungling Love. I wasn't expecting that from such a simple friend request. Anyway, said friend convinced (coughblackmailedcough) me into writing a sort of sequel. Again, I haven't played Sonic 2006, so all I know is what I've seen in screenshots or what HeatherlyCreature has told me. Still AU, OOC, and some Silvamy. Less than before though, and it takes a bit before it kicks in. You have been warned. Enjoy!

Also: _Italics indicate thoughts. __**Italics and Bold together indicate a flashback.**_

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To say that Crisis City was the result of the Apocalypse was the grandest understatement possible. The once magnificent skyscrapers were nothing but charred and smashed metal now. The streets were almost no more of course, having been covered by either rubble or smoldering fire. This didn't leave the small population of inhabitants without someplace to live and move, but it did make surviving very difficult. In fact, many of the residents spent their time either hiding in the buildings or discretely trading what few goods and food they could get their hands on.

Amy Rose felt like she could vomit at any moment. She had never seen a sadder sight than the one before her. She had to squint against the fire just to make out the outlines of buildings, and the temperature was so high she started to sweat. Looking up at the dark clouds that concealed every inch of the sky, it was clear to her that the sun and stars would never be visible. Amy recalled Silver's reaction to her own world: his fascination with the sun, his admiration of the plant life, his caution around water…

Silver lived like this every day of his life?

"Hey Sonic!" Amy called back into the tunnel behind her. "I found an exit!"

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy had an interesting experience involving a machine of Eggman's they had found in his base. It was a time machine of sorts, as the room it had been in disappeared before their eyes and was replaced by the ruins of the underworld of Crisis City. Using the device had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"_**It's strange that this whole place is abandoned," Tails commented on the seemingly empty base, checking over some of the control panels he had found.**_

_**The group of four had infiltrated Eggman's newest base, near Soleanna, concerned about what the mischievous man of a 300 IQ was up to. Thanks to Rouge's connections with the government (and therefore the government's satellites) they had found the base and quietly snuck in. This convert action had been pointless though; the base was vacant. Each room was in good condition for use, but Eggman had apparently just up and left. The room they were currently investigating was the last one, and it too was devoid of any sign of the enemy.**_

"_**Yeah, I would've thought we'd run into Eggman by now," Knuckles agreed. "Or at least some of his robots."**_

"_**Sure is suspicious," Amy said.**_

_**Sonic glanced up. The ceiling had an odd circular shape crossed with metal rigs. The rigs had wires running though them, which eventually led to the walls and down into the computer console that Tails was studying. Directly below the circle was a matching ring on the floor. The center of this loop had a small dome, about the size of half a basketball. Sonic tapped it with his finger, and could hear that it was hollow. Moving away from the dome, the blue hedgehog inspected the loop on the floor. It was slit like the window on a car door, so he bet that something was supposed to slide either into it or out of it. It reminded him of the capsule he had been ejected from the ARK in some time ago.**_

"_**Wonder what this thing is…" Sonic thought out loud.**_

"_**It's the one thing we—or should I say Tails—can't identify by looking at it," Knuckles said with a joking smile towards the small fox. Tails returned the smile, then turned back to the computer.**_

"_**I don't like the looks of this," Sonic replied, tapping his foot. "Eggman's been causing lots of trouble, and then he just disappears?"**_

"_**Whoa!" Tails yelped. He stood straight up, with his two tails on end. "You guys won't believe this!"**_

"_**What?" Sonic asked, rushing to his friend's side and gazing over his shoulder at the screen.**_

"_**Sonic, it's a time machine!" the fox responded excitedly. "And it's been used recently."**_

"_**How recently?"**_

"_**Four days ago," Tails informed. "I have its destination too. Some time in the future."**_

_**Amy walked over as well and noticed the date shown on the screen. Her eyes widened; it was very close to the time Silver claimed he was from. She had finally discovered that the white hedgehog was from a future time, and that the 'Iblis Trigger' he was searching for was actually Sonic. She cringed inside as she recalled the argument the two had over the situation, causing them to go their own ways. She also recalled the pain in her chest she had felt when she watched Silver run away from her. She heard later from Sonic that he had witnessed Silver returning to his own time, though how she did not know. Sonic told her that he had been accompanied by another hedgehog who was similar in appearance to Shadow, though the blue hedgehog claimed that something seemed a little off about him.**_

_**She blinked. Wait a moment…if Eggman had sent his robots to Silver's time, then he could be in danger!**_

"_**Can the machine still be used?" Sonic asked, thinking along the same lines as Amy and concerned for Silver's safety. Even if Silver had wanted to kill him, if he could just talk to the younger hedgehog maybe they could come up with a way to stop Iblis without killing Sonic. And of course, anywhere Eggman was, trouble was soon to follow.**_

"_**Yeah, it still works," Tails reported, pushing a few button on the console. "Ready when we are!"**_

"_**You actually want to use this thing to find Eggman?" Knuckles questioned Sonic. "You sure?"**_

"_**Do you see me hesitating?" answered Sonic with a smirk on his face.**_

Unfortunately, the plan about how they would get back to their own time period hadn't crossed their minds until long _after_ they had used the time machine.

That led the four of them to be stuck in some underground ruins. They had traveled through a few of the tunnels to find a way outside, with only the flickering lights on the ceiling providing them light in the dark and dank building.

"Sonic!" Amy called again.

"Coming!" Sonic yelled from the tunnel. "Ouch! Knuckles! That was my hand!"

"Sorry, but I can't see!"

Tails stumbled out of the dark passageway, panting slightly. He closed his eyes and spread his arms as the warmth of the sun spread over him…as the warmth of the sun…where was the warmth of the sun? The kitsune opened his eyes only to see murky clouds overhead.

"Is a storm on its way?" he wondered.

"No," Amy informed him, sighing slightly. "There was never a sun here."

Tails glanced at her in confusion as Sonic and Knuckles emerged from the darkness of the passage. Their eyes widened at the state of Silver's world. It was so bleak, so unlike their own time that it was nearly heartbreaking. Knuckles glanced around at the crumbling structures and burning lava. He had never seen anything like it. Living on the idyllic Angel Island his whole life, he was amazed that such a place could exist. The closest thing to this sort of damage was when Perfect Chaos had flooded Station Square, and even that was somewhat off from this. Could anyone even live here?

Sonic walked up next to Amy and looked at her sadly. She could see the questions in his eyes: Was this the world Silver was trying to change? This world that he wanted to kill Sonic for? When Amy didn't react to him, Sonic just gazed over the city again.

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The foursome explored the city for the next hour only to discover that there wasn't really anything to explore, aside from the crumbling buildings and the rivers of lava. The worst part was that there wasn't any sign of Eggman or his robots, and they had actually forgotten about him while walking around shocked by their surroundings.

One thing was certain though. Sonic wasn't mad at Silver anymore. Who wouldn't be angry at someone for trying to kill them, declaring that the deed would save his world from utter destruction? 'Utter destruction' ended up being unimaginable. The heat from the flames was so hot that for the first time in his life Sonic panted when he was running. If Sonic were in Silver's shoes, he possibly would have done the same thing. This only hardened his resolve to speak with Silver to see if they could come up with something that would benefit them both.

While she may have been hot on the outside, inside Amy's insides were freezing as she saw more and more of the hellhole her white hedgehog friend hailed from. Each sight caused anger to break out in her belly. Whether it was anger towards Silver's involuntary circumstances or towards herself for arguing with him about it, she wasn't sure. Most likely it was both.

If only she could talk to him, and apologize. She had felt terrible for leaving Silver, but at the time her worry for Sonic's health overrode her sensitivity towards him. Nothing would replace her feelings for Sonic, but that didn't mean she had to treat Silver so badly.

"What a place," Knuckles muttered, breaking the silence for the first time since they emerged from underground.

"You think Silver is here?" Sonic asked.

"Maybe," Amy answered. "I hope so anyway."

"No sign of Eggman though," stated Knuckles. "Seems to me this might've been a waste of time. Maybe we should head back."

"Actually, guys, I was wondering," Tails said. "How exactly are we going to get back home?"

The other three were silent. Yes, it was only then that they realized this problem.

Their panic about this issue was interrupted by a loud roar and the sound of a crash. Turning towards the direction the sound came from, it became obvious as to what was causing the commotion. A giant four-armed molten monster had emerged from the lava some distance away. Its lower jaw was larger than the upper part of the mouth, and ended in large protrusions that vaguely resembled elephant tusks. It had no legs to speak of (at least none that Sonic and the others could see), and the lava that made up its back was darker and cooler than the lava on its abdomen. It let out another grotesque howl and spewed a stream of flame at a building, catching it on fire and melting the already ruined metal.

"What in the world?" Knuckles groaned, feeling the heat suddenly become five times worse with the appearance of this creature.

"That's a stupid question, Knuckles!" scolded Sonic, giving the red echidna a glare. "That has to be Iblis!"

"That's what Silver fights every day?" Amy whispered in shock.

As if this world could get any worse. Her previous anger vanished, replaced by nothing but a murderous wrath. This was the creature that hurt Silver, caused him so much pain that he traveled time to try and stop it. Any plans she may have had about negotiating with Silver quickly left her mind; all she could think about was the life her friend had been forced into. She took off in a rush, running as fast as she could towards the lava fiend.

"Amy?!" Tails called to her. She was almost out of his sight already. "Whoa! Wait up!"

"Never seen her quite that mad before," Knuckles commented. "And that's saying something."

Sonic sped after her, clearly worried about her bout of rage.

The female hedgehog didn't notice when Sonic easily caught up with her. Her mind was focused on one thing: fixing Silver's world for good. She was going to make it right.

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Meanwhile, Silver was taking the worst beating he had ever experienced while fighting Iblis.

After multiple failed attempts to find and destroy the Iblis Trigger, he had returned to his own time with Mephiles. The darker hedgehog had claimed that he had found an easier way to destroy the Trigger, but had to return to their own present to do so. They had separated then, with Mephiles telling Silver that he would find him when he was done.

This left Silver with plenty of time to mull over the latest events. His mission had been to destroy the Iblis Trigger, to make it so that Iblis would never exist, but each time he either lost track of the blue hedgehog or was defeated by him. The last battle against Sonic had left Silver with more bruises than Iblis had ever previously given him. Such continuous failure was probably why Mephiles decided to bring him back home.

Then of course there was Amy, the only one besides Blaze who could make him smile. His initial meeting with her had been a complete accident; she had simply mistaken him for Sonic, which he still found odd because he didn't think he resembled Sonic in any way. They had traveled together for some time; he was searching for the 'Iblis Trigger' and she was looking for 'Sonic.' He had been quite surprised to find that they were in fact the same person. And the argument that had ensued…

"_**Why didn't you tell me it was Sonic you were looking for?!" Amy screamed at him. "If I had known that—"**_

"_**I didn't know Sonic was the Iblis Trigger!" Silver defended, his voice also rising. "I just knew he was a blue hedgehog that could run fast!"**_

"_**But you didn't bother to tell me what the Iblis Trigger was!" the pink hedgehog argued. "You never described what he looked like to me!"**_

"_**It's my responsibility, not yours!" responded Silver, his hands fisting. "I destroy the Iblis Trigger and then my world would be saved!"**_

"_**And what about my world?!" Amy hollered back at him, slowly advancing. Silver took a few steps back. "You go on and on about how horrible your world is, but it can't be that bad!"**_

_**She knew better than that of course. Amy had seen how Silver had reacted to what she considered to be the norm in her life. Sunlight, clean water, living plants…things she knew Silver grew up without. But she was too angry to think about that.**_

"_**To think I've been walking around with Sonic's possible murderer!"**_

_**Silver froze. He had killed fiends and fought Iblis many times, but that was survival. If he had just stood by and let Iblis run amok, many more people would be dead. He never actually killed anyone...the Iblis Trigger didn't count, did it?**_

"_**Murderer…" Silver whimpered, taking another step backwards away from Amy. He lifted his head and glared at her. "Fine. If that's all you think I am."**_

_**And with that Silver turned and rushed away as fast as his feet could carry him, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.**_

Silver made sure that he didn't have any extended contact with anyone from the past again. He didn't want to go through the trouble. He simply went after the Trigger for a while, fought some battles, and was brought home by Mephiles. This was good though, because by then Silver had completely lost any morale he had when he started the mission.

An hour of wandering around his dying city later, Iblis had popped up. This led the young hedgehog to try and fight the creature again, and thus to the aforesaid battery. Fortunately, or unfortunately rather, Iblis had sprung up from the lava rather close to Silver, and the boy had put up a mental shield against the demon's fire. The attack had welded together some of the metal of the building he stood on, so he quickly jumped down to a lower level of rubble.

He threw a few boulders towards the creature in hopes to hurt it, as he always did when battling Iblis, but this just seemed to make it angrier. Without Blaze to back him up, Silver found himself jumping and hovering every few seconds in order to dodge an attack. One of Iblis' claws came at him from behind, and Silver was thrown face-first into a nearby wall.

Silver groaned as his body slipped to the ground. He was glad he hadn't landed in the lava, but his head was now throbbing in pain, and he found he couldn't concentrate enough to put up a mental block against Iblis' incoming jaws.

The jaws never hit him though, as something blue sped between Iblis and the fallen hedgehog; this distracted the fiend long enough for a red form to lodge itself inside Iblis' mouth, holding it open.

This had to go down in the books as the craziest thing Knuckles the Echidna had ever done. Using all his might, he pried Iblis' mouth open, causing a roar to come forth. Knuckles was well-known for being extremely strong, but holding Iblis' jaws ajar required the greatest use of his muscles.

Silver watched the echidna in confusion. Was he crazy?!

He was about to yell at him to get away from Iblis before it let out its breath again, but then he saw what appeared to be a flying fox holding onto a very familiar pink hedgehog. His tails spun in a helicopter fashion, and he quickly dropped Amy onto Iblis' head. She pulled out her hammer (Silver always wondered where exactly she kept the thing) and slammed it into one of Iblis' beady green eyes. It let out yet another roar and swiped its arms at its head. Amy was knocked off, but Tails managed to catch her before she landed in the magma.

Knuckles took this moment to release his hold and glide to the side of a close by building. He did this just in time too, as Iblis let out another spew of fire into the sky just as Knuckles glided out of the way.

Sonic used the opportunity the distraction provided to leap off a spring and use a homing attack at Iblis' other eye. The creature snarled and, covering its eyes with two of its four hands, melted back down into the lava below.

Silver watched all this in amazement. These four had just fought off Iblis in no time flat! It would have taken him and Blaze much longer to accomplish such a feat. And that Sonic was smiling about it! A new kind of fury grew in Silver's chest…just another thing that Sonic could do that he couldn't.

"Hey Silver!" a feminine voice yelled to him. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It only haunted his thoughts more than he would like it to. Amy. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Silver replied, his voice a little tight. He kept his anger in though, as he knew that Iblis had a tendency to reappear in the same place right after a defeat. If no one was there, Iblis would leave. "No time to talk now. We must throw off Iblis. Follow me."

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Silver led the group to his most recent hideout. The place where Silver and Blaze got what little sleep they could often changed, as they had to keep a move on in case Iblis showed up. The place they slept for the time being was on the first floor of a somehow still-standing building. The entrance to the building was next to a flat area spreading to a cliff about eight meters away. The cliff led to a magma river, and sloped down at about a seventy degree angle. A small platform had fused to the cliff at its bottom, just a few feet about the lava. The group only knew about because Silver had levitated over the lava, onto the platform, and jumped up to the flat region. Tails carried Amy over and Knuckles had Sonic on his back as he glided across.

"In here," Silver instructed as he removed a slab of metal from the entrance with his psychic powers. The four went in after him.

Inside the building was a makeshift home, with two 'beds' made up of cut cloths set up against on of the walls. A small table sat between the beds, and it had a few pieces of metal that function as knives. The rest of the room had beams and chunks of rubble scattered about, although it seemed like they had been pushed up against the other two walls to make space. Amy gulped as she saw the rags that served as Silver's bed, guilt ribbing through her again.

Silver moved behind one of the metal chunk and out of sight. Sonic took this moment to look around. He noticed a pair of extra shoes at the foot of both beds. One pair was obviously Silver's, and the other pair was a more feminine pair that slightly resembled Sonic's own sneakers, only with white fluff on the top.

_Wait,_ he thought, frowning. _Aren't those—_

"Sorry I can't provide anything better," Silver announced as he came back into sight with his arms full of more pieces of cloth. He spread them out to form one large bed, though it was a little thinner than the first two due to lack of fabric.

"That's okay…" Tails muttered, still a little surprised at the state of Silver's so-called 'home.'

Silver was pretty sure that pity was what the others were feeling. They had known soft beds and a relatively safe world, and his world was the opposite. He sometimes wished he hadn't seen the luxuries the past had, because then he wouldn't know what he was missing. Silver glanced up and saw Amy looking around and fidgeting with her fingers. Yes, he wouldn't know what he was missing at all.

"I'm going to go get some food," Silver declared, concluding that his present trail of thoughts were not welcome. "You four wait here."

"I'll come with you," Sonic proclaimed. This would be a good time to talk to Silver about Iblis and Eggman. He didn't seem to want to kill anyone at the moment. "Just in case we run into Iblis again."

"Me too," Amy said, though her motives involved being the peacemaker between the two should a fight break out.

"…All right," the white hedgehog hesitantly agreed. He pushed the slab back with his mind again and led the other two hedgehogs out.

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Silver told his two companions that a supply holder had made his current home in another building about a mile away. He explained that the ones who managed to grow food always gave it to suppliers to give to anyone who needed it. Apparently the concept of buying and selling goods was foreign to the people here. Helping each other when they could was more important than making money. The supplier too changed where he lived on a regular basis, but Silver said he knew where the supplier was presently staying.

Amy and Sonic were both struck by how much the people of the future moved in order to survive. None of them ever seemed to have a permanent home, and that made Amy even sadder, if that were possible. She watched the back of Silver's head as he walked ahead of her, and she made a promise to herself that she would make it so Silver wouldn't have to always be on the move. She was determined to give Silver a real home.

Sonic was actually walking rather than running. He had planned to speak with Silver about coming to a compromise, but each time he tried to bring it up Silver would say that they would have to be quiet in order to keep an ear out for Iblis. Sonic knew otherwise, because Silver would always glare at him as he said this. Despite this, Sonic put himself in pace with Amy, while Silver walked ahead.

Silver stopped at the side of a building, with a door that only had the bottom half still on its hinges. A damaged sign on top of the door said 'Soleanna Bank." Sonic made note of this; so Crisis City was the future Soleanna? Interesting. He turned his attention back to Silver, who gently knocked on the remaining half of the door.

"Polo?" Silver called, keeping his voice low. "You there?"

"I'm here, Silver," someone responded. From the darkness in the building, a small anteater moved to the opening and leaned on the door. He must have been injured, because he was limping. He was older than Silver, and his brown fur was much darker than the anteaters Sonic knew in his own time, showing that this one was very dirty. Polo gave Silver a small smile. "Rations again?"

"That's right," Silver answered. He nodded towards Sonic and Amy. "Enough for five people."

"…Better not keep them together long, kid," Polo warned, slowly leaning down to grab a few bags. "Say hello to your friend for me when you see her."

He passed three bags to Silver, who gave one each to Sonic and Amy. Amy sniffed it, and cringed at the foul smell. This was supposed to be food?

"I will, thanks," Silver said. "Stay safe."

Polo nodded to the young hedgehog before turning back to hide in the building. Sonic and Amy glanced at each other before following Silver again, who had already begun walking back.

The trio was silent for a bit, and then Amy spoke up.

"Silver?" she said. "What did Polo mean, 'Better not keep them together long'?"

"It's a normal survival thing," he answered, still keeping his back to her. "When lots of people stay in the same place for long…"

"Iblis comes," Sonic finished for him, noticing the way he trailed off. "What about the people who grow your food? Don't they work together?"

"No, only two or three people work together at any given time," the white hedgehog snipped. "Keep quiet. Iblis might hear you."

"Silver—" Amy began.

"Okay, that's it!" Sonic snapped, his patience finally shattering. He shoved his bag into Amy's arms and sped around to block Silver's path. "We are going to talk, right now!"

"Keep your voice down," Silver hissed, his own patience on edge.

"No, I've tried talking to you, and I can't stand watching this anymore," Sonic hollered. "Why won't you listen to me?! I want to help you!"

"You did help me. That's why I'm alive right now," Silver argued. "And that why I haven't tried to kill you yet."

"Come on, Silver!" the older hedgehog was persistent in this. "Can't we just…"

Silver wasn't listening though. He glanced over his shoulder at Amy before returning his gaze to Sonic, tightening his hold on his bag. Sonic blinked, his anger slowly dissipating. He easily identified the emotion in the other's eyes.

Silver walked past him. Sonic went after him, with a confused Amy bringing up the rear.

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The three returned to Silver's hideout, with a report from Tails and Knuckles that they hadn't seen or heard any sign of Iblis. Amy wasn't sure if this was good or bad news, and she didn't think Silver was in the mood to talk about it. The face he had given her before put her on edge. He had looked at her like that before, when they had taken a break in the Soleanna forest, but this expression had also been mixed with something else. Maybe sadness? Pain?

Silver placed his food bag on the ground and opened it. He pulled out three objects that may have resembled fruit. They were dark green in color, with no leaves and dented in a few places. Silver was silent as he sat, crossed his legs, and began eating.

The others followed his lead. The other two bags contained similar fruit that only differed in their color. Tails was the first to take a bite, and gagged at the terrible flavor.

"Ack!" choked Sonic after he took a bite. Knuckles spat his piece out, coughing.

Amy hesitantly bit into her fruit. Her face scrunched up at the flavor. It was…indescribable. She had never tasted anything so foul in her life. She gulped, and it sank into her stomach like a brick. Amy gasped as she caught her breath, and then peeked over at Silver. He just sat staring at the floor, chewing his fruit as little as possible before swallowing. He felt her eyes on him and looked up.

"Sorry," he said. This was just another thing he wished he didn't know he was missing.

They sat in silence, with only the sounds of gasping and gagging as Amy, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles tried to eat the fruit. Silver felt worse and worse with each choke; these people had saved his life and he couldn't give them something worthwhile.

The dark clouds above began to get darker, signaling that night was coming.

"I'll stand watch tonight," Silver announced, standing. "You all get some rest."

Silver quickly made his way outside, desperately wanting to get away from Sonic's determined stare and Amy's pitying eyes.

"I don't think I could eat any more of this if I wanted to," Knuckles groaned, tossing the fruit back into the bag in disgust. "How can he eat this stuff?"

"I guess…" Amy murmured, fidgeting with her hands again. "He's used to it."

"He still won't give me a chance to talk," Sonic complained as he crossed his arms. "What am I going to do?"

"Maybe it's because it's you who's trying to talk to him," Tails explained. Sonic looked at him. "You're the Iblis Trigger, right? Why would Silver want to listen to you? As far as he knows, you are responsible for destroying his world."

"Makes sense to me," Knuckles added. "Remember when we first met?"

"Oh yeah," Sonic said with a chuckle. "I remember."

"All I could think about was how you wanted to steal the Master Emerald," the echidna described. "I didn't want to hear anything you had to say, because I figured it would just be a lie. Silver might be thinking the same way."

"Do you think he'll listen if _I_ try to talk to him about a compromise?" Amy proposed, clasping her hands together. "He likes me—or liked me anyway. He might believe what I have to say."

"Maybe," said Knuckles. "Or he might think you're in league with him, since you're friends and all."

"Amy's right though," Tails argued. "That could work."

"It's worth a shot," Sonic said with a nod of agreement. "Try tomorrow though. Let Silver calm down from today."

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Silver watched the sky as the others slept. He remembered the night he spent in a cave near Soleanna, with Amy. He had seen the stars for the first time then. Silver missed the stars, and kept dreaming of the day he would see them in his own sky.

The others had fallen asleep a few hours before. Silver decided that he wouldn't wake one of them up to take a night shift; they deserved all the rest they could get. He still had trouble believing that those four had driven away Iblis, and seemingly without much difficulty. He was both amazed at their skill and angry at himself for not being able to do the same.

"I presume you have a good reason for letting the Iblis Trigger have free reign in your hideaway," a deep voice said with contempt. Silver spun around in surprise to see Mephiles leaning against a wall. His arms were crossed and he was giving Silver a displeased expression. "Or is it all part of a plan to eliminate him?"

Silver blinked and stuttered for a response. Mephiles raised an eyebrow.

"I-I'm going to take care of it," Silver stammered, trying to come up with a good excuse. "But…he had saved my life from Iblis today. I thought I—"

"You thought you would return the favor to the one who is responsible for the state of this place?" Mephiles interrupted him, smirking as he glimpsed around the decaying city. "Yes, I can see why you hesitate."

"They're just looking for this Eggman fellow," Silver explained, trying to gain his confidence back.

"Eggman returned to the past a while ago," Mephiles reported. "They have no business here now."

The white hedgehog bit his lip, and his left heel began tapping nervously. He never quite knew what to say to Mephiles. Something about the dark hedgehog just demanded that he be obeyed.

"I said I'll take care of it," Silver protested.

"I'm sure you will," the other replied. He stopped leaning on the wall and put a hand on Silver's shoulder. "You know, it is easiest to eradicate an enemy when he is least expecting it."

Mephiles walked past him, and once Silver realized what he meant he turned only to see that Mephiles had disappeared.

Silver slowly turned and walked back into the hideout. He saw the four strangers lying on the makeshift beds. Knuckles lay next to Tails, who was next to Sonic, who had Amy lying on his other side. This was his chance. Sonic wouldn't know what hit him, and Iblis would never be born.

The white hedgehog levitated a piece of metal, swinging it over to make the sharp edge point down towards Sonic's head. He held it above the blue one's neck, planning to sever his head from his body.

Sonic just slept on peacefully, unaware of the impending danger. He ever had the gall to smile in his sleep! Silver noticed that Sonic had his back to Amy. Amy had one hand brushing against Sonic's back. Silver suppressed a growl at that. Didn't Sonic know what he had? He took for granted everything he had! Sonic had plenty of friends, a blue sky, appetizing food, and Amy's love—

That thought slammed into Silver's head like an iron door. Amy loved Sonic. He knew this from Amy's actions around the other male hedgehog. She cared so much for him, but he gave her nothing in return, as far as Silver knew. But she loved him nonetheless. If anything happened to Sonic, it would break her heart.

Silver glanced down at the slumbering Amy. Then his face turned to the metal he held hovered above Sonic. Back and forth his gaze went between the two, and each time he looked at Amy his chest clinched tighter and tighter.

He mentally set the wedge down, careful to make as little noise as he possible could. Silver moved to the spot next to Amy and gently rubbed her arm. She shifted a bit and sighed. Silver closed his eyes; she was probably dreaming about Sonic. He sat up and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. He then stood and walked back outside.

Silver's head was going in circles. If he wanted to prevent Iblis from ever existing he would have to kill Sonic, but killing him meant that Amy would be hurt, and might never speak to him again. He sat and pulled his knees up to his chest. Silver had no intention to see Amy brokenhearted, yet that would be the price if he wanted to save his home.

He put his forehead on his knees and forced himself not to cry. Either way, he lost. The question was, what was he more willing to lose?

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Tails woke up with a yawn. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he saw that Sonic and Amy were still asleep. Amy had moved away from Sonic, and had her back towards her, which he found odd considering how she felt about Sonic. Then again, the recent events were making Tails think differently about it all.

Stretching, Tails also saw that Knuckles was already awake, and was staring out the open doorway. Tails stood and followed the echidna's gaze; Silver was sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring out at the lava.

"There's something wrong with him," Knuckles said out of the blue. Tails jumped slightly, as he wasn't expecting Knuckles to speak up like that. "I can tell how badly he wants to hurt Sonic, but he holds himself back for some reason."

"I wonder about that too," Tails answered. "I hope we can convince him that killing Sonic isn't what he should do."

Knuckles was quiet for a moment before he spoke again.

"This is such a horrible place…that fire…it burns even under the skin," Knuckles whispered, as if he didn't want Silver to hear his thoughts. "Seeing all this…now, I don't mean that trying to kill Sonic was right, but seeing this and seeing that monster…I can't really blame Silver for trying."

"…You seem to know a lot about what Silver's going through," Tails noted.

"As I said yesterday, I wanted to defeat Sonic to save the Master Emerald," Knuckles said with a sigh. "Replace me with Silver and the Master Emerald with this city, and the two situations are rather similar."

Tails had nothing more to say to that, and even if he did he wouldn't get the chance to say it as Sonic and Amy woke up then.

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Silver sat at the end of the cliff and looked down at the lava, the swirling red molten rock moving in a hypnotic motion. He forced himself not to think. If he thought about anything, that pain in his chest would return. He couldn't think about how his world was doomed as long as Sonic was alive. He couldn't think about how angry Mephiles would be when he told him he wasn't going to go through with it. He couldn't think about how Blaze would be disappointed at his cowardly actions. He couldn't think about how Amy was going to leave and he would never see her again—

Damn it, he was thinking. And there was the pain, like one of Iblis' claws had wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed just enough that his heart wouldn't burst. His charming, beautiful Amy was in reality not his, and that hurt more than anything.

"Silver!"

And then there was her sweet voice. A little high pitched, and probably not very good at singing, but still the sweetest thing his ears had ever heard.

"Silver!" Amy called to him again. Silver slowly stood and turned to face her. "I need to talk to you."

He walked up to her, seeing that the other three were keeping their distance. That meant that whatever Amy had to say she wanted to say in private. He couldn't tell if this was something he wanted to hear or not.

"What is it?" he asked, noticing that his voice was wispier then it usually was.

"I wanted to tell you that we—that is, Sonic and I—want to discuss with you about finding a way to destroy Iblis without having to kill Sonic," Amy explained in a single breath. "And maybe you could help us defeat Eggman. So everyone benefits."

"Eggman returned to your time yesterday," he told her. At her perplexed look, he continued. "I heard from an informant."

"See? You're helping us already," Amy said with a smile. "How about we all go home and think of a way to finish off Iblis?"

"There is no other way to destroy Iblis," Silver replied, suppressing a shudder at the word 'home.' If this was what she wanted to talk about, then he didn't want to hear it.

"But there must be!" Amy said in protest, her smile fading. "There's always another way!"

"Not for a murderer like me," he argued. Amy cringed as he threw her words back in her face. He saw her face and backed down. "I'm sorry, but destroying the Iblis Trigger is the only way to destroy Iblis itself."

"If we put our heads together, we can come up with a way," she repeated. "Sonic and the rest of us have been in tough situations before."

Silver shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to kill Sonic anyway."

"You're not?"

"No."

Amy stared at him in surprise. Something must have happened to completely change Silver's mind. Wondering what it was, Silver gave her a look. One of those expressions that said more than words could ever say.

"But…what about this place then?" she wondered aloud. "It'll never change."

"I know."

"You're just giving up?" Amy said. There was no verbal answer to that. "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious," Silver replied, his eyes glued to his feet. "There is no other way, and since I'm not doing it—"

"I told you there has to be some other way!" Amy yelled. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles perked up at this, but still kept their distance. Amy grabbed Silver's hands and held them between hers. He inhaled sharply at the gentle warmth. "Don't give up like that. Have some hope that you can change things!"

"Hope? Hope?!" Silver parroted, his voice growing stronger as rage took over. He jerked his hands away and spread them, motioning to the crumbling city around them. "Look around you! You've seen this place! There is no hope here! Only survival, and even that is out of reach for many of us."

He was panting by this time, his rage getting the better of him. Amy stared at him in shock and sorrow; she couldn't believe her ears. Was Silver really this far gone? His living conditions damaged him worse than she had earlier thought. She watched as Silver forced himself to calm down.

"Hope is an impossible ideal in this time," Silver rationalized. "You can do what you want about Iblis and Eggman, but don't count on me. I'm going to keep fighting here."

Silver turned his back to Amy at this point. He didn't want to see the pain in her eyes as he rejected her help. He stared back at the flowing magma below.

Amy was frozen. The determined hedgehog she had mistaken for Sonic before seemed to have melted away along with his sweat from the heat. What was left was a forlorn boy that didn't have it in him to try anymore.

"What happened to you, Silver?" She asked, her voice breaking a little.

She got no response. With her heart heavier than ever, she spun on her heel and ran. She passed Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and the latter two pursued her in confusion. Sonic watched her go before looking back. Silver had watched Amy run off over his shoulder; his eyes met Sonic's for a moment before Sonic left as well. Silver felt that clenching in his chest again.

Sonic had everything Silver could ever want, and Amy's support was the last he could take. His righteous rage at the injustice of his circumstances quickly transformed into jealous anger. Silver fell to his knees and he slammed his fists into the ground, making them pulse in pain. He raised his eyes just in time to see a blast of lava rise up from the magma below the cliff, burning his eyes and making them water.

When the fire disappeared, Silver looked up at the sky and silently cursed those flames with everything he knew.

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End file.
